tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-43237166853605030952024-03-19T17:32:28.334-04:00♥♥Kimberleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14108003635357075262noreply@blogger.comBlogger390125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4323716685360503095.post-88620826070826042522010-08-27T10:09:00.001-04:002010-08-27T10:10:53.527-04:00Mommy ConferencesNow that the kids are back to school (except Sifan...she has another week off), I am starting to miss the kids (a weee bit). With 4 little ones who need attention in a short period of time before bed; we needed something new. I <strike>flopped on the couch </strike>stumbled upon something; everyday I hit my midday slump around 4. Unfortunately this coincides with when the kids get home from school. As I snuggled up on the couch with my giant Bubba keg of tea, Wubitu snuggled up against me to read a book and tell me about her day. Light bulb flashing brightly....each kid got a turn with mommy all by themselves where we went through their papers, read a book, and talked about anything they wanted for 15-20 minutes. By the end my mind and body were restored to their former caffeinated state where making dinner was a possibility without feeling like curling in a little ball on the floor between stirring various pots. The level of calm in the house has increased exponentially. Wubitu was even "nice" to Sifan without prompting on the way to Zumba afterward :) (usually she is ALL ABOUT Wubitu and being first or getting the most) The combination of everyone getting time away at school and individual time with mom at home has helped to provide a much needed buffer that was lacking over the summer as their personalities grated against one another. Plus, I feel like I did my "mommy job" and know what is going on in their lives. Now <strike>keeping tea from shooting out of my nose</strike> dealing with what I hear in mommy conferences is another story ;)Kimberleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14108003635357075262noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4323716685360503095.post-9202649573844636492010-08-23T14:53:00.000-04:002010-08-23T14:53:57.935-04:00Preschool fashionistaI should have known when one of the first things translated to me from Sifan in Ethiopia is that she wanted to buy high heeled shoes... She is a true fashion diva. She stands in front of the mirror after 5 outfit changes critiquing her reflection from multiple angles. Sometimes finding the "right" outfit according to Sifan can take a full hour and might involve Sifan's personal alteration like a pony tail holder in the back of the shirt to hold her t-shirt tight against her tummy so that her sparkly pink belt can show. Many times she has complete melt downs reminiscent of a teenager if she can't get her appearance to exactly match her own standard of beauty. After one such fit I asked her what she wanted them to look like and why she was pulling her shirt in so tight and sucking her tummy in. In tears she took me to her new back pack that had Sleeping Beauty on it and told me that she wanted her shirt to be like Sleeping Beauty's. (for the record Sleeping Beauty wears a pink dress with a fitted bodice...this is what she was trying to achieve...the fitted bodice with a t-shirt) It hit me then that she was using Disney Princesses for fashion ideals. She even told me about the discussion she had with Carter about whether the other princesses had long loosly attached sleeves or long gloves and high heels. She was paying close attention to those princesses. So while the big kids are at school all day; we did a special project of going through the Sunday ads to find the outfits she liked, cut them out, and pasted them in her "Fashion Journal". Hopefully this will help her to be more comfortable with the clothes they sell in stores circa 2010 ;)Kimberleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14108003635357075262noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4323716685360503095.post-67293161741592835252010-08-13T12:14:00.000-04:002010-08-13T12:14:20.639-04:00Back to myselfIt has been a very very very long time since I have last blogged. The truth is I had to take a step out of the cyber adoption world to find ME again. I ceased looking at message boards, blogs, yahoo groups, etc. for the entire summer and honestly it was much needed. The online adoption world is a wealth of information that I am sooo very thankful for. Without it I would have been lost and anxious about so many facets of adoption: travel, paperwork, citizenship, attachment, ethics, transition, PADS, etc. However with it can come drama, in the form of passionate discussions on message boards, or scathing comments on blogs and intense personal messages on facebook or sent through emails. After 3 1/2 years I needed to take a step back from what had become an addiction; something that took over a larger portion of my life than I could afford to forfeit. That is not to say that I am turning a blind eye to the continuing issues of Ethiopian adoption but that I am content to get the cliff notes version from the many close cyber friends I have made in this journey. So while I am bowing out of the "drama" I am greatful that I get to keep these precious relationships that have been a life line for me through this incredible season in my life.<br />
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So in giving up my cyber drama I was able to replace it with an old friend, a good book. I have been voraciously tearing through series after series this summer. Concentrating on saucy vampires and valient fauns has done wonders in helping me to purge all of the anxiety, anger, and fear that was pent up from our last adoption. <br />
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I also developed a pretty intense affinity for Zumba. Monday, Thursday, and Friday I enjoy getting my groove on; for sure my hips have learned a few new tricks and I can shake a booty like nobody's business :). I always leave with a smile on my face and return home to some ice for the knees...(old lady). Redirecting my anxiety from food and computer potatoedom to books and exercise has helped me to find my old pre-adoption body too. Losing the 25 lbs. of adoption weight, I am thankful that I can now fit back into my old clothes. Jeans!!! The cookie pants have now been retired...hopefully for good.<br />
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My relationship with the girls has been FABULOUS for the most part. We have fallen into a good routine and I have learned how to keep them busy. This is a difficult task because they are not ones who enjoy playing with toys. It seems so wrong by American standards for children but they really enjoy cleaning. If I give them a choice of watching a movie, playing Barbies (brushing their hair), coloring (which they enjoy), or sweeping the dining room floor...they will pick sweeping every single time. This is something they fight over actually, who gets to sweep. So I have let my OCD about cleaning go a bit and let them have at it. They are always so proud when they are done and like to make a game of making sure that the house is clean before Daddy gets home (with absolutely no prompting from me). Seriously, who can complain about the extra help. We have also worked very hard all year teaching the girls to read. I am not one who enjoys playing on the floor with Barbies, and babies so it took awhile to find an activity that was mutually enjoyable. They really like to learn and I really like to teach. We started with letters in October and Sight words in mid-May. Each girls gets 30-40 mintues of uninterrupted mommy time almost every day as we work on reading. Both girls have really flourished. Both can read over 100 words by sight and they can both sound out new words that are 3-4 letters long. They are so proud of their new reading ability and will spend hours reading their books on their own. We also worked on cartwheels and hand stands (yep, I still can do them with ease...as long as I can keep my feet away from the ceiling fan). We are still working on round offs, one handed cartwheels and backbends (these make me feel very very old). Though Sifan who had zero strength in her abs, arms, and shoulders last year at homecoming can now hold a back bridge for 2 full minutes :). Sifan is TENACIOUS!!! She is a year younger than Wubitu so things that come easily to Wubitu at age 6 are not so easy for Sifan. However, she makes up for it in resolve. It took Wubitu about 6 hours of practice in one day to learn the cartwheel (remember they don't play with toys or watch tv much so this is what they chose to do...there was endless, mommy watch me requests the entire time). For Sifan it took 3 hours a day for 3 months to learn to do a cartwheel...she NEVER gave up...even when I told her that maybe she should wait until she is 6 like Wubitu to try. I invested in a gym mat because I thought they would pound a hole in the living room floor. On top of the hours of practice at home, everywhere we walked Sifan was trying to turn her cartwheel and her practice finally paid off. Seriously world watch out for this one....you don't want to get in her way :).<br />
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Wubitu will be starting Kindergarten in a week along with Carter going into 1st grade and Noah 4th. Wubitu is soooo very excited about being a big girl. Sifan will be going to preschool 5 days a week for half days and the other half we have enrolled her in a YMCA enrichment program because she so very badly wanted to go all day like the other kids. This was our compromise since she wasn't going to Kindergarten :) (trying to keep the girls in separate grades since they are 1 year apart). <br />
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So we have reached a new season in our lives, with all of the kids in school all day. Life is so different when you youngest is 5....a very good different. I am glad to be finding me again and shedding the "adoption me" that was so anxious, and scared, worrying about my daughters far away in questionable circumstances and their development here at home. It is good to finally be just about raising 4 fabulous children with an awesome husband who can finally come home every night for dinner :).Kimberleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14108003635357075262noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4323716685360503095.post-49309747793874409852010-05-24T09:31:00.000-04:002010-05-24T09:31:31.184-04:00Zipity Do Da- Wuby and Sifan<object style="background-image:url(http://i1.ytimg.com/vi/hWtXlGbktl8/hqdefault.jpg)" width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/hWtXlGbktl8&hl=en_US&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/hWtXlGbktl8&hl=en_US&fs=1" width="425" height="344" allowScriptAccess="never" allowFullScreen="true" wmode="transparent" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"></embed></object>Kimberleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14108003635357075262noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4323716685360503095.post-59037540728208777782010-05-24T09:30:00.001-04:002010-05-24T09:30:12.529-04:00Circus Tumbling<div><embed src="http://www.onetruemedia.com/share_view_player?p=afe29d3cc19692e770cee7" quality="high" scale="noscale" width="320" height="284" wmode="transparent" name="FLVPlayer" salign="LT" flashvars="&p=afe29d3cc19692e770cee7&skin_id=1011&host=http://www.onetruemedia.com" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer"></embed><div style="margin:0px;font:12px/13px verdana,arial,sans-serif;line-height:20px;padding-bottom:15px;width:320px;text-align:center;"><a href="http://www.onetruemedia.com/landing?&utm_source=emplay&utm_medium=txt1" target="_blank" style="text-decoration:none;">Make an on-line slide show at <span style="text-decoration:underline;">www.OneTrueMedia.com</span></a></div></div>Kimberleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14108003635357075262noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4323716685360503095.post-77355792241551397212010-05-23T22:38:00.001-04:002010-05-23T22:38:18.398-04:00I Just Can't Wait To Be King<div><embed src="http://www.onetruemedia.com/share_view_player?p=afe136bef1142a638c3eda" quality="high" scale="noscale" width="327" height="290" wmode="transparent" name="FLVPlayer" salign="LT" flashvars="&p=afe136bef1142a638c3eda&skin_id=1010&host=http://www.onetruemedia.com" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer"></embed><div style="margin:0px;font:12px/13px verdana,arial,sans-serif;line-height:20px;padding-bottom:15px;width:327px;text-align:center;"><a href="http://www.onetruemedia.com/landing?&utm_source=emplay&utm_medium=txt4" target="_blank" style="text-decoration:none;">Make an on-line slideshow at <span style="text-decoration:underline;">www.OneTrueMedia.com</span></a></div></div>Kimberleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14108003635357075262noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4323716685360503095.post-31329225480048137432010-05-23T22:13:00.000-04:002010-05-23T22:13:28.807-04:00Get on the Bus-Wuby and Sifan<object style="BACKGROUND-IMAGE: url(http://i2.ytimg.com/vi/mpHd3eeQU4E/hqdefault.jpg)" width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/mpHd3eeQU4E&hl=en_US&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/mpHd3eeQU4E&hl=en_US&fs=1" width="425" height="344" allowscriptaccess="never" allowfullscreen="true" wmode="transparent" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"></embed></object>Kimberleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14108003635357075262noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4323716685360503095.post-61996644705840481802010-05-23T21:41:00.001-04:002010-05-23T22:05:16.748-04:00Dance recital<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZOHTCqgxQ3ILQq7_iX5Qy2Xj0JhMbohQnFrz1gEDuS6wjae8XIvASuKxYag7E5z1ncCIaMV9mi0vy9lsZZgXI9ZSwe1nCoyA_Rk9lRyGoEN_X71SmrLm4igImYkHj1KL4BCyyYuzaAKaD/s1600/P1090185.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" gu="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZOHTCqgxQ3ILQq7_iX5Qy2Xj0JhMbohQnFrz1gEDuS6wjae8XIvASuKxYag7E5z1ncCIaMV9mi0vy9lsZZgXI9ZSwe1nCoyA_Rk9lRyGoEN_X71SmrLm4igImYkHj1KL4BCyyYuzaAKaD/s320/P1090185.JPG" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9jIsBNm9ecW8tk-I_V6ApGDg7IbHOwTNPP_Djtuts46s-lUr-eszpnP9YlWAGbLNpyAfZlf4WvSnL79a5moJ33rVcv-8yYJh18dVsFws4eHrzg8YwEMWQYBlxsHErwsa2qvPkwpzkDnqn/s1600/P1090186.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" gu="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9jIsBNm9ecW8tk-I_V6ApGDg7IbHOwTNPP_Djtuts46s-lUr-eszpnP9YlWAGbLNpyAfZlf4WvSnL79a5moJ33rVcv-8yYJh18dVsFws4eHrzg8YwEMWQYBlxsHErwsa2qvPkwpzkDnqn/s320/P1090186.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; 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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">This was Sifan's first dance recital :) She was sooo excited but didn't really understand what we meant by recital even after her 2nd dance she kept asking when we were going to the recital.....dancing is what she does all the time ;)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdUmQSFRDaUIoO7LSSmZx1DBnvOMvo-OqLiSQBYPkXEAKPF-jubUChsj-mYF8MgPyXQh5XYuGIvftNutMSI5doX8fXEidDiUmEI_vCwUHVEe04Wp6o9Bruy-R8TigwOGakFY69S2e_CX5u/s1600/P1090195.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" gu="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdUmQSFRDaUIoO7LSSmZx1DBnvOMvo-OqLiSQBYPkXEAKPF-jubUChsj-mYF8MgPyXQh5XYuGIvftNutMSI5doX8fXEidDiUmEI_vCwUHVEe04Wp6o9Bruy-R8TigwOGakFY69S2e_CX5u/s320/P1090195.JPG" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimRWQBTELhFVBt2PJlCCbvhRTUnNJ9Wz_fSh-CXbOu89bOIEauGtHsPTzjh9X3dfB-F7KOkxYLZ6c340uZNRm8TljH5fhDn8ObNT6mKpvHFIqtrtFHRmUyetwAVfN4Ag70cwQa9lXhR6u0/s1600/P1090190.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" gu="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimRWQBTELhFVBt2PJlCCbvhRTUnNJ9Wz_fSh-CXbOu89bOIEauGtHsPTzjh9X3dfB-F7KOkxYLZ6c340uZNRm8TljH5fhDn8ObNT6mKpvHFIqtrtFHRmUyetwAVfN4Ag70cwQa9lXhR6u0/s320/P1090190.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Their first routine was a tumbling act to Lion King's "I Just Can't Wait To Be King" <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKzhBJnG8gPhCiT2944AkZyNz5MM0pRkMMt-vD5UpdAZ1wyrJ5p0zwEV42pxqCLY5N-0ILqnLGS3FbhQ7jxlhMfmdhBKEZCks7cS_Xx1Xp6lnsWrSWMYCLQMunuImk7N7jUw0Orng-vxPg/s1600/P1090142.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" gu="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKzhBJnG8gPhCiT2944AkZyNz5MM0pRkMMt-vD5UpdAZ1wyrJ5p0zwEV42pxqCLY5N-0ILqnLGS3FbhQ7jxlhMfmdhBKEZCks7cS_Xx1Xp6lnsWrSWMYCLQMunuImk7N7jUw0Orng-vxPg/s320/P1090142.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Next a little "Skipity Do Da". The girls have been BEGGING to wear this costume. I had to hide it in my closet.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEdNzIa1oVTMy30Ir3I1m-jVgvwTuvVoANQ52klFSr9nvgTIYFnSiUmBkKDG79PPx5-IASB0alUjO5tlhChY1jmCFnvRnuql_BHbSf48AdVZh8UqfsjrMYWmu6fFqfFxQPjip3agBN20cZ/s1600/P1090150.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" gu="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEdNzIa1oVTMy30Ir3I1m-jVgvwTuvVoANQ52klFSr9nvgTIYFnSiUmBkKDG79PPx5-IASB0alUjO5tlhChY1jmCFnvRnuql_BHbSf48AdVZh8UqfsjrMYWmu6fFqfFxQPjip3agBN20cZ/s320/P1090150.JPG" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7b4xJFYMVdiOEkUcaeMQYMs58xTrKplkyXmMnYMJ4B2BHD_xrbyPoG9r18zIoT6TSF7DCZ3TzVCcN5evc9BjFSpY3q3F5f5d_yayBIiyYapKyT0BACafMaS6ZNG6dlDilrykXnCxYX56N/s1600/P1090154.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" gu="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7b4xJFYMVdiOEkUcaeMQYMs58xTrKplkyXmMnYMJ4B2BHD_xrbyPoG9r18zIoT6TSF7DCZ3TzVCcN5evc9BjFSpY3q3F5f5d_yayBIiyYapKyT0BACafMaS6ZNG6dlDilrykXnCxYX56N/s320/P1090154.JPG" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw9rs6mYWSX0TbtldDc4xVefDX6qg33cljSLKBAYzSRaS3PjB8JHzxueArrpcIjlE7oNWacIy0JiGh788F6IJpfxHNsz-oTQNGYhikJFuOWHIL9ouVLeP5mytHFJsPZqh-OJTch01c9gRO/s1600/P1090155.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" gu="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw9rs6mYWSX0TbtldDc4xVefDX6qg33cljSLKBAYzSRaS3PjB8JHzxueArrpcIjlE7oNWacIy0JiGh788F6IJpfxHNsz-oTQNGYhikJFuOWHIL9ouVLeP5mytHFJsPZqh-OJTch01c9gRO/s320/P1090155.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">A little "Get on the Bus" from the Doodlebops show. This outift reminded me of the CRAZY get up that we had my senior year of Accents (flag corp..whatever people call it). We had these sequined silver skirts over full spandex suits...and we ripped the skirts off and danced with them...oh public schools...oy). Anyhow this is called the alien baked potato look. The girls giggled hysterically when they had to put this on.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj4QO9TxWMHAXGTtKocKdqmPBD25UmJ3daUGubgU6kG6Pz7ZwP0ZJSlQphtSwbj_ntylRyaRUoxn8rMs9fd0-IeeswCBF2sSTYxxG2_gNJaPpiVjcc-bnoDmZJrVT3g0hhbHTPWoTZ8ZsC/s1600/P1090162.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" gu="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj4QO9TxWMHAXGTtKocKdqmPBD25UmJ3daUGubgU6kG6Pz7ZwP0ZJSlQphtSwbj_ntylRyaRUoxn8rMs9fd0-IeeswCBF2sSTYxxG2_gNJaPpiVjcc-bnoDmZJrVT3g0hhbHTPWoTZ8ZsC/s320/P1090162.JPG" /></a><img border="0" gu="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_Sd1q-LO5LMGICuQP_U_GXtgqtA7kFHWN35nL7tRyZoCdRyVEQYtywp17uPHv75KNCR4HSeyjTiHXl6QlUNynAb782IUp12m2Yf7V7AtiAD0czH68wxCethJxOAsqEDDxl_RzyLNaAvT3/s320/P1090167.JPG" /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">The last act was a circus tumbling act. In the bathroom an older lady told Sifan that she liked her hair. Sifan looked the lady right in the eye very very seriously and said, "this is not my REAL hair". She repeated herself several times because she did NOT want anyone to think she would really have hair like this.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <img border="0" gu="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYhty7Q09RllfhLEWOAeu6GqNOiANHZ-nziwXT5o_iLCaCinhZD4pXs36w0F73nl4mdZeixxqCLYPJNwzxy3EgAaV77_wnTQ4qKfylT8N1qrN74JxfV2RHuaEx-I2VbHxD0FrGE8b4CBTW/s320/P1090184.JPG" /></div><br />
It was a bit crazy with 4 costume and 3 hair changes. We forgot the white tights so T had to run all the way home but by the time he got back I had already borrowed some from some sweet girls in the bathroom (THANK YOU!!!!). It made the recital go very very fast but we were all sad to miss so many of our friends dance :(. <br />
Videos to follow later :)Kimberleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14108003635357075262noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4323716685360503095.post-80118696000117960862010-05-13T17:36:00.000-04:002010-05-13T17:36:33.405-04:00Recent Events<div class="separator" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Things have been busy as usual here in the Ehrman house. Sifan & Carter celebrated their birthday together. Sifan turned 5 and Carter 7 on April 29th. They really enjoyed sharing in the celebration. It really didn't bother either of them to have a party together. They are the sweetest pair really. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWHAq6_eKqgLdj37oJe-yJCoghqtEsozHgnL_U4zWfr1NxIs-SDf7bhs-QXbY-jRfyYA7lBYHWbBV8QWrJ8gRzMraVVenjWfO4_484I-SnBHdOJavXtBCMvIobfJePhSl7paIvRVJ2XQTx/s1600/P1090021.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWHAq6_eKqgLdj37oJe-yJCoghqtEsozHgnL_U4zWfr1NxIs-SDf7bhs-QXbY-jRfyYA7lBYHWbBV8QWrJ8gRzMraVVenjWfO4_484I-SnBHdOJavXtBCMvIobfJePhSl7paIvRVJ2XQTx/s320/P1090021.JPG" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPtoqLkVb9GVEUSLPJ6MEZjGnJH3Ska55XghIduPzI68HALTWUkf6wnFzKY9LUrZX9n7_vHyPl4owO2sSRgZBRHf9H_4_RSF4Qm23Q_qppZqztERaynuDyF-beay-gkTCddCbDxj4Ax7Q7/s1600/P1090023.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPtoqLkVb9GVEUSLPJ6MEZjGnJH3Ska55XghIduPzI68HALTWUkf6wnFzKY9LUrZX9n7_vHyPl4owO2sSRgZBRHf9H_4_RSF4Qm23Q_qppZqztERaynuDyF-beay-gkTCddCbDxj4Ax7Q7/s320/P1090023.JPG" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_WOEeZW5m57xxnokItu8z0CNX5KKWmumVU8qva454jTAIHH8QS7XMm0vyoYI59zU-rChCPRx8WA7X9dttiWRARaUuTVr0dZaLaUXFUmCCvlArEVRmVo4Lt0OFCU1Za5I5qd3VVzmDLPAG/s1600/P1090020.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_WOEeZW5m57xxnokItu8z0CNX5KKWmumVU8qva454jTAIHH8QS7XMm0vyoYI59zU-rChCPRx8WA7X9dttiWRARaUuTVr0dZaLaUXFUmCCvlArEVRmVo4Lt0OFCU1Za5I5qd3VVzmDLPAG/s320/P1090020.JPG" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLYJ7CcswIF0gO0-udvCOR0vqhCM6rwYZOwk2rm_8loEaff4VaOzmadHlVzBpJP3UQB2-BIVlXbGZvmEb1EVhWVwvX_sFdHauNccoAEqg-_TiHYGZjo3pS3KnGLUZN2XkAUEoLjLef7DTT/s1600/P1090017.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLYJ7CcswIF0gO0-udvCOR0vqhCM6rwYZOwk2rm_8loEaff4VaOzmadHlVzBpJP3UQB2-BIVlXbGZvmEb1EVhWVwvX_sFdHauNccoAEqg-_TiHYGZjo3pS3KnGLUZN2XkAUEoLjLef7DTT/s320/P1090017.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_KwNv-Zvo3x9tIOE9pkcHQ9Qexk7d01tcV_mQJ7u9YwCHV9qdHHA72bx3EmkLoH3IQAVlvCxFOAD69v3aRUQItWgvXlQYw7Uabgu8ZalnGmV19LaMPqNFlkUUW0y4IhNZvJBT2FF2gw-A/s1600/P1090012.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_KwNv-Zvo3x9tIOE9pkcHQ9Qexk7d01tcV_mQJ7u9YwCHV9qdHHA72bx3EmkLoH3IQAVlvCxFOAD69v3aRUQItWgvXlQYw7Uabgu8ZalnGmV19LaMPqNFlkUUW0y4IhNZvJBT2FF2gw-A/s320/P1090012.JPG" /></a></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh-IMQV0NKSajUR1UbWzOvIupzBjR2TbEy1W7MbbOh-WOXvF9SnEhYskbr_gsv3fE3eWg_sRtNUKZZ46kvzIi2fpookppeAkv8FGWHqKO1KFso5YcO_mBc0zTHFehbJKz8aaFTOL02eC-T/s1600/P1090003.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh-IMQV0NKSajUR1UbWzOvIupzBjR2TbEy1W7MbbOh-WOXvF9SnEhYskbr_gsv3fE3eWg_sRtNUKZZ46kvzIi2fpookppeAkv8FGWHqKO1KFso5YcO_mBc0zTHFehbJKz8aaFTOL02eC-T/s320/P1090003.JPG" /></a>We had planned on having a big backyard barbecue but changed the venue to a gymnastics center because of the rain. The kids had a fantastic time. They did an obstacle course, balance beam walks to jump in the foam pit, and trampoline tricks<br />
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The boys have taken up Lacrosse<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg88c6v0DlZN9O0quf2UIIfBg8-F2NcRb1nebBD0zS226dozo1XwueN-BuQGHoEQ9E04mwLAWRR9YXKeAPaGiMdkITngFqFDDsGTKkM0sDAnnWBwGIeJRjecStG-H5Cc4dsa94viLNwV8XN/s1600/P1090044.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg88c6v0DlZN9O0quf2UIIfBg8-F2NcRb1nebBD0zS226dozo1XwueN-BuQGHoEQ9E04mwLAWRR9YXKeAPaGiMdkITngFqFDDsGTKkM0sDAnnWBwGIeJRjecStG-H5Cc4dsa94viLNwV8XN/s320/P1090044.JPG" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRDQrtCfsNB5ppIkqMpFctpRPw1e4Jvb38xS0wsBmlB57IjgsO7UD2gAA9DuYFe5LO9lbwdjRC4Nv2iq__CU7seQiHvgw8Kaxz5OGyse-78owEDi8YL_TR49CdKZ99t4XWR5Kl0n9vL2_h/s1600/P1090052.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRDQrtCfsNB5ppIkqMpFctpRPw1e4Jvb38xS0wsBmlB57IjgsO7UD2gAA9DuYFe5LO9lbwdjRC4Nv2iq__CU7seQiHvgw8Kaxz5OGyse-78owEDi8YL_TR49CdKZ99t4XWR5Kl0n9vL2_h/s320/P1090052.JPG" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdZwWwWxw6UKIAGij_XyQrYi6jrOX5DEZbP_sds-kKGxTHbjiHXsk-flCBpGUxdIM7_P45uZT7CT1ETeogIZ4IjFSlMo5S3JysA-nRqgqjC2NAUqD9cif_v7ISpjIlHldlMyS5sJxzJa8q/s1600/P1090059.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdZwWwWxw6UKIAGij_XyQrYi6jrOX5DEZbP_sds-kKGxTHbjiHXsk-flCBpGUxdIM7_P45uZT7CT1ETeogIZ4IjFSlMo5S3JysA-nRqgqjC2NAUqD9cif_v7ISpjIlHldlMyS5sJxzJa8q/s320/P1090059.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL6cAhyphenhyphenXPFgyM_sxmKVMckVZIi3nU84p8A0-qcc3bdnWIWtKzfr918pdhvk_7zI_AqGVNuWyciPn73hiHCBt-c6QD4VeTpvG7t3R3YOfSantWcmVvWlejHlXIKQOepeK2nRzQnVANe4RCl/s1600/P1090049.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL6cAhyphenhyphenXPFgyM_sxmKVMckVZIi3nU84p8A0-qcc3bdnWIWtKzfr918pdhvk_7zI_AqGVNuWyciPn73hiHCBt-c6QD4VeTpvG7t3R3YOfSantWcmVvWlejHlXIKQOepeK2nRzQnVANe4RCl/s1600/P1090049.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL6cAhyphenhyphenXPFgyM_sxmKVMckVZIi3nU84p8A0-qcc3bdnWIWtKzfr918pdhvk_7zI_AqGVNuWyciPn73hiHCBt-c6QD4VeTpvG7t3R3YOfSantWcmVvWlejHlXIKQOepeK2nRzQnVANe4RCl/s320/P1090049.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSK6T0t-0DJLxsZ0_ppQXUq_YVkiaaxTa_xcIGJSb0YVwtWEJlQLduUZ0tzJwdXpL1apMvnZGgR6ZEEN15_IolAjv8d4iY7GlLCsv9l2LuYhyPR7HR-CrmovXKnL1KxpRCuu4_9nayqYLg/s1600/P1090065.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSK6T0t-0DJLxsZ0_ppQXUq_YVkiaaxTa_xcIGJSb0YVwtWEJlQLduUZ0tzJwdXpL1apMvnZGgR6ZEEN15_IolAjv8d4iY7GlLCsv9l2LuYhyPR7HR-CrmovXKnL1KxpRCuu4_9nayqYLg/s320/P1090065.JPG" /></a></div>T opted to not go through formal graduation ceremonies. Instead we went to Applebee's for dinner. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmOjjs1fZPuESC7-T2AHwR8DhryQUw4EIoeX2zZ4eEuB1kXKEtz0NkOEYHizN5E7r2Xi6wZfrOBDXWCpKmiHIxnUliQBZscUeghDACZPkGlMuUQt5JyXmzcq2rMWB674P7LDHgEAiWGLYw/s1600/P1090035.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmOjjs1fZPuESC7-T2AHwR8DhryQUw4EIoeX2zZ4eEuB1kXKEtz0NkOEYHizN5E7r2Xi6wZfrOBDXWCpKmiHIxnUliQBZscUeghDACZPkGlMuUQt5JyXmzcq2rMWB674P7LDHgEAiWGLYw/s320/P1090035.JPG" /></a></div> A fun trip to the zoo with some friends.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNjKFooezrmlLHNYV7hLXNOZhD5iE-aKo-gCjpDGidq_ezMzBDVEUuhaB58qaya_Z2XzwdYNmROr0pRFSwCSSiod1j6IHNvjs5cjuozuLUjy2Fw07B59tLapjqtOF5Mep5uIODGkUR8wQv/s1600/P1090030.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNjKFooezrmlLHNYV7hLXNOZhD5iE-aKo-gCjpDGidq_ezMzBDVEUuhaB58qaya_Z2XzwdYNmROr0pRFSwCSSiod1j6IHNvjs5cjuozuLUjy2Fw07B59tLapjqtOF5Mep5uIODGkUR8wQv/s320/P1090030.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj64qkJZYAtuXgwMWmGXr3fyHCCFWsLtLd7uLksr7B5VNAr4njh3F3Vqf0OsvyoaRB0nazo-nNP_1MoMbgSP3uepD1tBLKpguU_lB17RwDFjbaNuLc6RghuTiisYnG9tMQykUS6MbE_V1Le/s1600/P1090041.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj64qkJZYAtuXgwMWmGXr3fyHCCFWsLtLd7uLksr7B5VNAr4njh3F3Vqf0OsvyoaRB0nazo-nNP_1MoMbgSP3uepD1tBLKpguU_lB17RwDFjbaNuLc6RghuTiisYnG9tMQykUS6MbE_V1Le/s320/P1090041.JPG" /></a></div>Kimberleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14108003635357075262noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4323716685360503095.post-80996088916129255552010-04-27T21:03:00.000-04:002010-04-27T21:03:58.399-04:00Kinky Curly Curling Custard & Birthday HairMy friend Dee let me have some of her Kinky Curly Curling Custard (KCCC) to try out before I "invested" in it myself. {DEE YOU ROCK BTW} Well, I loved it at first but it didn't weigh Wuby's hair down as much as i would have liked!!! KCCC is a curl definer, it prevents massive shrinkage during drying and leave nice moisturized curls when it air dries. Today I co-washed (washed with conditioner) Wuby & Sifan's hair and brushed the conditioner through. Rinsed the hair and lightly wrung it out. Then I added the KCCC and brushed it through root to tip. Then let it air dry. This is what Wuby's hair looked like 3 hours later (mostly dry).<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh29lvulMYYsUckGh7-1-h4XI43U7U_cQZjbN9KfJaSaRb0Ijbn63HCo9-oosFkhvpi1vT4GLy1ZdRcUY7HeunyvXMTjlsq7nHAZvuHR1DJbszd7H7tYYW-CheaGA2Wmj0Dn9BUqPOu0PYH/s1600/P1070889.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh29lvulMYYsUckGh7-1-h4XI43U7U_cQZjbN9KfJaSaRb0Ijbn63HCo9-oosFkhvpi1vT4GLy1ZdRcUY7HeunyvXMTjlsq7nHAZvuHR1DJbszd7H7tYYW-CheaGA2Wmj0Dn9BUqPOu0PYH/s320/P1070889.JPG" width="320" /></a><br />
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I missed most of the top of her hair so I rewet with a detangling spray and brushed more KCCC through those parts. The final result still had a lot more shrinkage than I liked. However, her curls were well defined with minimal frizz. I like KCCC but Wuby feels 'weird" wearing it this way after wearing it in 1 or 2 ponytails for most of the last year. I isn't the wonder cream I was hoping for but it does help to have another hairstyle under our belts that is easy and fast without damaging the hair by pulling, heat, or chemicals<br />
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Sifan has been begging for "shakies" but we have been too busy and her hair is still rather short. So for her birthday that is coming up on Thursday we did her first box twists with beads. She sat very still and watched TV for the first hour and a half. then she played computer for another hour and a half while I work. Wuby was a great help in stringing our beaders. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1PdluvGpLA_JNTUf48nPoYQruujtDIeJAmVGd5JUwUxCp29V_9QYcQIQag-i8mD3Di-t3GSe0DpM4IttM7yWNtrnKCYs1-arAiWS9huuv8HgKGop92HGOmOdXPckc-py3D1SrsnY1SrZc/s1600/P1070963.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1PdluvGpLA_JNTUf48nPoYQruujtDIeJAmVGd5JUwUxCp29V_9QYcQIQag-i8mD3Di-t3GSe0DpM4IttM7yWNtrnKCYs1-arAiWS9huuv8HgKGop92HGOmOdXPckc-py3D1SrsnY1SrZc/s320/P1070963.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>Kimberleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14108003635357075262noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4323716685360503095.post-50287707910418906532010-04-19T13:42:00.000-04:002010-04-19T13:42:41.143-04:00Easter Parts 2 & 3<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCqYsJffHYm3QaRZ_7z0B-wdyN7ajehlBH42UUuVw7zUXrUI9l9bRhUeDyb_i3ViX8eeMp_BaYokA5knv7HkZfeA1KlulA8TdFTTyDy6b3Zh5iqEQ5NuTAVDF-_t1YnLw5qsVlybOXnR-1/s1600/P1070845.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCqYsJffHYm3QaRZ_7z0B-wdyN7ajehlBH42UUuVw7zUXrUI9l9bRhUeDyb_i3ViX8eeMp_BaYokA5knv7HkZfeA1KlulA8TdFTTyDy6b3Zh5iqEQ5NuTAVDF-_t1YnLw5qsVlybOXnR-1/s320/P1070845.JPG" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTV4hi6w7ma2Sf5wGpI5dMx7cd8L_x5lqYSCuKM4YaAHnrNiI3CNWON4iRPSsraIdNrT8i9DFnpAp2JiRx5828Wa4TU8vhyCxOAI-Drz3ClKaVvKSo8plYtwrrkI2YIjr1Lnxx-Ny8TTYI/s1600/P1070877.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTV4hi6w7ma2Sf5wGpI5dMx7cd8L_x5lqYSCuKM4YaAHnrNiI3CNWON4iRPSsraIdNrT8i9DFnpAp2JiRx5828Wa4TU8vhyCxOAI-Drz3ClKaVvKSo8plYtwrrkI2YIjr1Lnxx-Ny8TTYI/s320/P1070877.JPG" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhARTzPVSA6AFBL-zUEUaetYxHKX8I6U65Mn07oXNYykn751JP6lUyhfzJATU_ogKVb3Yo_GD60E1meVfdMR8tPhcXutGepV8pQNt1OReHLZL1EUTstGBBE_n7DG7ZgHdkN-CkbaOK7K4xl/s1600/P1070857.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhARTzPVSA6AFBL-zUEUaetYxHKX8I6U65Mn07oXNYykn751JP6lUyhfzJATU_ogKVb3Yo_GD60E1meVfdMR8tPhcXutGepV8pQNt1OReHLZL1EUTstGBBE_n7DG7ZgHdkN-CkbaOK7K4xl/s320/P1070857.JPG" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinjFAa-n_ALBQ48eFe4d-QtVrMcPS1VDT4un4gr7rF_f2GEBstB-dnWEkCGahIhFuPl91b9KfiUphZStPhlTZJMmN9lgaSWmBJsPJqFDtHS0z_9EzJsTbnFBCcv6KehUTkacCx1zoDNjRb/s1600/P1070876.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinjFAa-n_ALBQ48eFe4d-QtVrMcPS1VDT4un4gr7rF_f2GEBstB-dnWEkCGahIhFuPl91b9KfiUphZStPhlTZJMmN9lgaSWmBJsPJqFDtHS0z_9EzJsTbnFBCcv6KehUTkacCx1zoDNjRb/s320/P1070876.JPG" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaPm9IjCJRPPkMU7-filrH3GS0TiGLESIp39x_mfohFdjEbi_qcAxBSD-1qSgOd7ANATidin1U541SC_CGLcdR8_ON_lxd7YlG9aicPR2JhTo1SoBp3wHWf1bnxMoPEd7Hv1jXdoBYAHpJ/s1600/P1070850.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaPm9IjCJRPPkMU7-filrH3GS0TiGLESIp39x_mfohFdjEbi_qcAxBSD-1qSgOd7ANATidin1U541SC_CGLcdR8_ON_lxd7YlG9aicPR2JhTo1SoBp3wHWf1bnxMoPEd7Hv1jXdoBYAHpJ/s320/P1070850.JPG" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnHBk1BQWMjNPPp4XDrHAyFcwp8pDvDOTZbq942xTCQMMfGqg1HREH2P116KYoVKbym4cQ7M6R4eOu1mHlQJibMIIgn-h0ZA923GOh-egju4Rx_HMWPh543-69TGW9EU4e_NLgNpJrD1Oi/s1600/P1070849.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnHBk1BQWMjNPPp4XDrHAyFcwp8pDvDOTZbq942xTCQMMfGqg1HREH2P116KYoVKbym4cQ7M6R4eOu1mHlQJibMIIgn-h0ZA923GOh-egju4Rx_HMWPh543-69TGW9EU4e_NLgNpJrD1Oi/s320/P1070849.JPG" /></a></div>Just got around to uploading these pictures :) Easter weather was FAB-U-LOUS here! Unfortunately I did not get pics of our family together at church on Sunday morning all dressed up :( When we picked Carter up from his class he had somehow smashed his face into a table playing speed stackers and was bleeding from his mouth and nose :(. <br />
Sifan had a wonderful first Easter. She is so cute trying to figure out all of our holidays. She kept saying Easter is going to bring me _______ (insert favorite Barbie toy or movie). She had a great time hunting for eggs at Grandma and Grandpa's house (2 times). Kimberleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14108003635357075262noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4323716685360503095.post-2426253625391142132010-04-16T09:43:00.000-04:002010-04-16T09:43:44.792-04:00The end of our adoption journey....To be completely honest my lack of posting has been largely due to the overwhelming jumble of thoughts and emotions that would make the airy and light posts seem unauthentic. I have been very very open about ALL of the steps of our adoption journeys until what seemed like the end of Sifan's adoption. So much has gone on behind the scenes that I cannot share on this blog, things that involve other families, our daughters' backgrounds, agencies' behaviors past and present, and ethics in Ethiopian adoption. I am very conflicted as I am a wear your emotions on your sleeve type of girl who will talk about anything. However, the circumstances that have arisen in the last year have brought up a lot of issues and thoughts that could only be written as a rough draft....things that I am constantly researching and revising and may never be ready to put out for a final print. Adoption doesn't seem to lend it self to a period...end of story as I first thought it would. Child home, child adjusted is not the end of the story. Adoption is so complex. Children grow up into teenagers who question and adults who contemplate. I can only imagine that the questions and concerns I have now will only be the tip of the iceberg of the issues my daughters will bring up when they are old enough to think about and understand the complexities of adoption and their background. I will try to keep this blog as "real" as I can but I am sure that I will likely be erring on the side of superficial at least in cyberspace ;)Kimberleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14108003635357075262noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4323716685360503095.post-2500715894916203332010-04-15T09:44:00.000-04:002010-04-15T09:44:47.949-04:00Being content, Celebrating the blessings, and RefocusingThis weekend we will officially take our house off of the market. To be completely honest we are happy with this decision. We have had a few very interested parties but everyone lacked the credit needed to purchase and we were not comfortable becoming landlords. So we are staying put for awhile. I am glad we went through the process though, mainly we have made so many wonderful improvements that we LOVE our house. Improvements that I don't think we would have invested in if we were not trying to sell. Even just decluttering and reorganizing our home has made a significant difference in the amount of space we have. Our only qualms are 1) the bathroom issue (1 bathroom to 6 people) 2) the crazy circles I drive around town to drop and pick the kids up from school (about 1 h 45m a day in the van) . Both of these are inconveniences and not impossibilities. The GREAT news is that the combination of paying off our car with out tax return and deciding to not take on a larger mortgage payment in its place has made it possible for me to be a full time stay at home mom!!! This had never been possible before as I have always worked 1-3 part time jobs to help make ends meet. Torrey will finally complete his 9 year bachelor's degree in 3 weeks and we have decided to put all of our extra spinning plates down and hang our extra hats up for awhile to just regain some balance in our lives. We want to refocus on our children and try to make up for lost time while they are still young. Our focus has been on work, ministry, school, adoption, our home, etc for so long that our children have never really experienced the old fashioned family dinner. And they are missing out on the joy of having their parents boty home on a regular basis. We have been tag team parenting for a long time that the children are always surprised to have both of us in the room at the same time. (Sifan especially will question which one of us is leaving when she sees us together at home :( )<br />
Staying where we are may not afford us much privacy or time in the bathroom but it will give us more time to regain some of the quality family time we have missed by being so "busy".Kimberleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14108003635357075262noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4323716685360503095.post-85338319781680159882010-04-03T22:39:00.000-04:002010-04-03T22:39:45.220-04:00Easter Part 1Today we had our first Easter Celebration. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFwLzj8iBaA_0kgHo97wWL79oMOw-HEtvha-bLchi9j7ypUKXOgE1iXaQ61Gpz2-Ci7uBWHgxO7L6Tk057ryGjjQyq60URV4UqU6BaM19IpV5_fBNPUw6JwGd0F5i7AzrmkPtA8lLgZBOi/s1600/P1070824.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFwLzj8iBaA_0kgHo97wWL79oMOw-HEtvha-bLchi9j7ypUKXOgE1iXaQ61Gpz2-Ci7uBWHgxO7L6Tk057ryGjjQyq60URV4UqU6BaM19IpV5_fBNPUw6JwGd0F5i7AzrmkPtA8lLgZBOi/s320/P1070824.JPG" /></a></div><br />
A little egg hunting between rain drops<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz_yV-OaSb6t2Xmgxo1r-Z5bTMEWvvPgdIEKnMQdkjshP_4dyN1qTXCM_-vEaacTReu-D1UCCpHGX8l8S0Kk8E2Kgl4mHCdHonQR6o1QhF2Q2PZ7_vas8YmqxJXvozDsWdgy_RIokXtR0m/s1600/P1070810.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz_yV-OaSb6t2Xmgxo1r-Z5bTMEWvvPgdIEKnMQdkjshP_4dyN1qTXCM_-vEaacTReu-D1UCCpHGX8l8S0Kk8E2Kgl4mHCdHonQR6o1QhF2Q2PZ7_vas8YmqxJXvozDsWdgy_RIokXtR0m/s320/P1070810.JPG" /></a></div>Daddy and his girls <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge6FxUAOTvG9Y60Bnb0T8wIHfZCbFTO-9ESvERxUWNKPr6_kWsdkDFgZ_g0R8dhEp5k327CZ-J5Uit75xM73feyMcNcn4LZcDqKl7yaniFMTwy0s9h5iPKGBCKHYsi4x0cRUJy-r0J3qpH/s1600/P1070816.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge6FxUAOTvG9Y60Bnb0T8wIHfZCbFTO-9ESvERxUWNKPr6_kWsdkDFgZ_g0R8dhEp5k327CZ-J5Uit75xM73feyMcNcn4LZcDqKl7yaniFMTwy0s9h5iPKGBCKHYsi4x0cRUJy-r0J3qpH/s320/P1070816.JPG" /></a></div> Sweet baby Carter<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKOyZt4mM6sbgLxf6ThdhsVQQHRVvcMtRILp_Z-BZcaVExogoagwbIhW27BdqdeG-fTJEupsYV0_0u0ndmPLPef9J6rTDV1CXyomqaX2NfmnFASyEGsgjDybQ38z80SWtbhQH5Y1UUjAQT/s1600/P1070832.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKOyZt4mM6sbgLxf6ThdhsVQQHRVvcMtRILp_Z-BZcaVExogoagwbIhW27BdqdeG-fTJEupsYV0_0u0ndmPLPef9J6rTDV1CXyomqaX2NfmnFASyEGsgjDybQ38z80SWtbhQH5Y1UUjAQT/s320/P1070832.JPG" /></a></div>And some new "headbands" from Grandma and Grandpa.<br />
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This blog came up in conversation during the family get together today. I forget that people read this blog sometimes.Kimberleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14108003635357075262noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4323716685360503095.post-85760102567357889872010-04-03T22:19:00.001-04:002010-04-03T22:20:53.327-04:00Sifan's adoption announcements<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQXdo5G7AU_d5UDBDp-0EyLoP7Pg-h4u8iMGaeF0_qIvN-XaadN6i4nVDObTTKlNo8TI6xU49kAiRhxAmcu6Ne8BxIhiaVr3c7ZqU6MOyGHj-iGoLdKWJOySvIq8HBNdxPSAeka2PIGG7H/s1600/sifan+announcement+finL.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQXdo5G7AU_d5UDBDp-0EyLoP7Pg-h4u8iMGaeF0_qIvN-XaadN6i4nVDObTTKlNo8TI6xU49kAiRhxAmcu6Ne8BxIhiaVr3c7ZqU6MOyGHj-iGoLdKWJOySvIq8HBNdxPSAeka2PIGG7H/s320/sifan+announcement+finL.jpg" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Dear Friends and Family,</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">It is with great joy that we officially announce the arrival of our daughter</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;">Marjorie Sifan Ehrman</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;">{See-fen}</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;">Born 4/29/2005</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;">In Mendi, Ethiopia</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;">Home Forever June 27th, 2009.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">We have given her the name Marjorie in honor of Kimberley’s beloved and greatly missed </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Great Grandmother Marge Abbott.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">We pray that Marjorie Sifan has the same gentle, kind, and loving spirit as her name sake.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: right;">The Ehrman Family</div><div style="text-align: right;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: right;">Torrey, Kimberley, Noah, Carter,</div><div style="text-align: right;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: right;">Keziah Wubitu & Marjorie Sifan</div><br />
<br />
Today we finished Sifan's adoption announcements! Sifan picked out special pink tulip paper to print the announcements on. We are so glad we waited to make these because all of the information is correct now that we have finalized the spelling of her name and have her actual birthday!<br />
Sifan has been home 9 months now :)Kimberleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14108003635357075262noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4323716685360503095.post-6462706684774784322010-03-28T20:06:00.000-04:002010-03-28T20:06:56.549-04:00updates<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">A few updates:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">It seems that this blog always goes by the wayside when things get busy around here. At times I think about just stopping and maybe someday I will. For now here are a few photo updates:<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiikNG8sr1p_DSujXm946ExNjlZakadHta9z6F8I4DBml1jS-RIwY62v8mWH84yY6D_EPrsUSnVp7xyPMTZ1_64BdRdItqYnO23iX6Mku4uaZOT0AoJEFGQ4w9GCXIVzV_Laz_Cz_7_hmip/s1600/P1070688.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiikNG8sr1p_DSujXm946ExNjlZakadHta9z6F8I4DBml1jS-RIwY62v8mWH84yY6D_EPrsUSnVp7xyPMTZ1_64BdRdItqYnO23iX6Mku4uaZOT0AoJEFGQ4w9GCXIVzV_Laz_Cz_7_hmip/s320/P1070688.JPG" /></a></div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">This is Sifan's finger. She got it stuck in the door jam and instead of opening the door to get it out she pulled it out and ripped all of the skin off of her finger tip. I laid the flap of skin back over the wound hoping to protect it. This photo was taken to send to T to ask whether i should take her to redimed to look at it. He said, "just wait and see." However by the time he got home the whole tip was purple so Sefan and I headed to the urgent care center. They steristripped it shut and put a splint on the tip and wrapped it up nicely. But the splint and bandages were off within 10 minutes of hitting the waiting room. The steristrips lasted 2 days. She was not a fan. The flap has now died and has been cut off. FUN stuff. We did have the BEST time together away from the other kids for a few hours. There is rarely a time when Sifan and I just get to spend time together. Usually it is Mom and Sifan and the pile of laundry or the load of dishes. She is a great helper but she is soooo funny and cute when there is nothing to do but wait and enjoy some great conversation.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhswaD6b6VCQI76mIDTcprFPH56c4BzJ-yx5LZ4WEeOlNh21FTJ0NbzI2MzrUvm6QZ3aTvEQKg-jAlKOWLpW27zgqC4s8DSKDG0FURq7rvSv27yQU8mWxQtKGON2zZK3_Yp5yiVstWbQBmS/s1600/P1070654.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhswaD6b6VCQI76mIDTcprFPH56c4BzJ-yx5LZ4WEeOlNh21FTJ0NbzI2MzrUvm6QZ3aTvEQKg-jAlKOWLpW27zgqC4s8DSKDG0FURq7rvSv27yQU8mWxQtKGON2zZK3_Yp5yiVstWbQBmS/s320/P1070654.JPG" /></a></div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">This is from the girls' tumbling class. They were trying out their wigs to see if they could still do all of their tricks with them on for the recital in May. With Wuby is Corina, she was adopted from Russia some time between Wuby and Sifan's adoptions. It is fun to have an adoption tumbling class.</div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQcGSvk-xm1STW1bG9L4x5Hm01SUbQcJG78JzvGkdul_t6cRwQmiPwM9IPOOps7M14BbczFts4xaXwGpBEgkF0_RdPyKhfPpZoNVu367-Vfh1CcI53ggPeigkH8XbAPGwzpYvSls-t2JtJ/s1600/P1070725.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQcGSvk-xm1STW1bG9L4x5Hm01SUbQcJG78JzvGkdul_t6cRwQmiPwM9IPOOps7M14BbczFts4xaXwGpBEgkF0_RdPyKhfPpZoNVu367-Vfh1CcI53ggPeigkH8XbAPGwzpYvSls-t2JtJ/s320/P1070725.JPG" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrFM4AzBxXwbOoq-T4ayJXCoBKjttutPGVUhRa1tt-HEDZcxyfP0zamDMMWix5HoxR838ET0YpYyc3-TXMh02o33FVxdyXoXSj6xausVt8R94kAT4nfLjQiXgz_0ydyO7RjAQlsohw-hgD/s1600/P1070691.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrFM4AzBxXwbOoq-T4ayJXCoBKjttutPGVUhRa1tt-HEDZcxyfP0zamDMMWix5HoxR838ET0YpYyc3-TXMh02o33FVxdyXoXSj6xausVt8R94kAT4nfLjQiXgz_0ydyO7RjAQlsohw-hgD/s320/P1070691.JPG" /></a></div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I am finally working on Sifan's adoption announcements now that we have her official birthdate and name change complete. Better late than never :). We had a great time doing a photo shoot while the other kids were at school.</div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRBDYRpXrClQtJPF1tUPIF5MIlzjayA7y-B11pA7Bzcm9SRpb3viWzfVv9Jb00sXT9qdR-k-fd11Z1JGdaKOP9_H2iJc3KYUxHtIQYOTGQmjLnpASQv7sC16gijHQevQM8QIvVs5Wabetr/s1600/P1070763.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRBDYRpXrClQtJPF1tUPIF5MIlzjayA7y-B11pA7Bzcm9SRpb3viWzfVv9Jb00sXT9qdR-k-fd11Z1JGdaKOP9_H2iJc3KYUxHtIQYOTGQmjLnpASQv7sC16gijHQevQM8QIvVs5Wabetr/s320/P1070763.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpFPL53YHYUkyMkOJXDgW_k4NiUH6Kv8DVv4BCj4kvN8H676stGKh8K-LgxGib0eTEaX4JWd6NVaVSItKcBYJn9s6yjxWvQMNU1h_vt_5hwAvkwWPCAMzhtY_t-BOHRrimN9D-n0Zef_Rq/s1600/P1070757.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpFPL53YHYUkyMkOJXDgW_k4NiUH6Kv8DVv4BCj4kvN8H676stGKh8K-LgxGib0eTEaX4JWd6NVaVSItKcBYJn9s6yjxWvQMNU1h_vt_5hwAvkwWPCAMzhtY_t-BOHRrimN9D-n0Zef_Rq/s320/P1070757.JPG" /></a></div>In hair news: We are working on perfecting our flat iron skills now that Wuby's hair is getting longer. She sits so very still for the 2 hour process because she so badly wants her hair straight so she can comb through it all day. This was our first semi-successful attempt<br />
(and a little flat iron in the front for Sifan to make her happy.). <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH9LKgJeSUKjLnilW0HlqaJJLVaNSDS7D6zqQ0Keindko7RxLTeLnoVSDcx8doJgKEOAT3sv87zVOtFC7AT9aAwP31YRL5DHT7f6-F9wdb8Y6jHnFqFmXAeF7qUx9Aa4Assd7OF74BSNJ4/s320/P1070733.JPG" /> </div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">This is what Sifan looked like when I came home from work on Saturday. She was sooo proud that she did her own hair all by herself. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVqAliBI-8eGl7GXK2NkFDHcrD5mW8MDZLQpnjV91-DZN5_3FxUuzWcdS6h0waMERpOw9I8a2YxND8fDBYV_fD9lHr2RnxcBkMw6sCljJRUx5ppS3MxnisRWS-LRzSJkz3JWBxuB6kuEju/s320/P1070753.JPG" /> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">T meets baby Kouper! Things have been so busy that Torrey finally got to meet our nephew Kouper today. He is getting quite big! Gives me baby-itis....never thought I would say that ;)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">In other news: Carter FINALLY gave up his training wheels in exchange for a trip to Fazoli's!!! It was ridiculously painless and quick. He just took them off (by himself with a wrench) and took off. He can even beat Noah in a bike race! It is amazing how motivating unlimited breadsticks can be :)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">In Noah news (he seems to easily become overlooked) he is getting straight A's and doing well. When T gets done with school in 6 weeks they plan to write a video game together!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">On the home selling front:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">We had 2 showing of our house this week. We had actually given up on selling our house when we got the call. Unfortunatly the couple's grandpa vetoed the sale due to his dislike of supports in the basement. We have made so many improvements to our home in the last 5 months that we are really in LOVE with it. So we are happy either way. We are fine to stay here or happy to move. The GREAT news is that if we stay I don't have to work anymore!!! We paid off the car with our tax return!!! </div>Kimberleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14108003635357075262noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4323716685360503095.post-89708564543772709902010-03-13T14:36:00.000-05:002010-03-13T14:36:32.280-05:00A momma has to brag!Back in January Carter's photography and visual art submissions for the a PTA art program advanced to the state level for grades K-2nd. We just recieved word that his photography submission placed in the top 3 for the state!!! We are so proud of him!! The theme was "Beauty is...."<br />
<br />
This is a picture of the hooks where he hangs his coat at school. His artist statement was, "This is my class, this is where I belong. (beauty is belonging)" <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYJ90UGIbnw1yunHcgeooljRZHfROR9eE5oEaMck3wNUiXUBMQzqcNqu1hIm9Tmo-c5RD94sehhesxgnwGUFHaEUNuuy2AFhLHeOyJGbdWI58LuFmY5QefTtwsaSPlhmyCQssyVO7qJOKS/s1600-h/cehrman+7.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYJ90UGIbnw1yunHcgeooljRZHfROR9eE5oEaMck3wNUiXUBMQzqcNqu1hIm9Tmo-c5RD94sehhesxgnwGUFHaEUNuuy2AFhLHeOyJGbdWI58LuFmY5QefTtwsaSPlhmyCQssyVO7qJOKS/s320/cehrman+7.JPG" /></a></div>Here are a few others that Carter took that I LOVE:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBuBkrSzWOTRob_jC1WHblwS_GUvJt7EQjvqAGdv183imwRA_-UtWA0B4pQGizN0DSn_z9mDpONHfXtKWsGatxINVSiY_Ey3uFg0nSc0gWtXs443s_3muemkFbcJXrflZ_CnZ7HIdDUkHl/s1600-h/P1070018.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBuBkrSzWOTRob_jC1WHblwS_GUvJt7EQjvqAGdv183imwRA_-UtWA0B4pQGizN0DSn_z9mDpONHfXtKWsGatxINVSiY_Ey3uFg0nSc0gWtXs443s_3muemkFbcJXrflZ_CnZ7HIdDUkHl/s320/P1070018.JPG" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCvDSe2K2TF780pdx-dxEVN9MecHDu6hgS2WSCw1iIlrBbTOcSWrJa6nRv6N-tFP_pOGc379uCve1jGS9yd25LpmtvP1w9-EkYeXcp_hvLsyvUS1bYEWEmi7LPtaCk4irEnBYch5fg6veP/s1600-h/P1070050.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCvDSe2K2TF780pdx-dxEVN9MecHDu6hgS2WSCw1iIlrBbTOcSWrJa6nRv6N-tFP_pOGc379uCve1jGS9yd25LpmtvP1w9-EkYeXcp_hvLsyvUS1bYEWEmi7LPtaCk4irEnBYch5fg6veP/s320/P1070050.JPG" /></a></div><br />
His perspective is very interesting to me. Maybe all Kindergarteners see the world this way? I just love the way he captures it in the camera.<br />
Since I am on the brag endlessly about my kid post, I wanted to add this one.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKG9fdWFpMGprcaBZw2RLbUBuNYVJJmQMmxkIqz-13cGycTHfEqEl33L7NVP0MO4zt3i2wbju1sRiFlv0kasXzheXnTO-GhGF3DEzvKEIZWKwqls7qdldHPr9TAPyHMrgkZWeenc7dlJ77/s1600-h/scan0050.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKG9fdWFpMGprcaBZw2RLbUBuNYVJJmQMmxkIqz-13cGycTHfEqEl33L7NVP0MO4zt3i2wbju1sRiFlv0kasXzheXnTO-GhGF3DEzvKEIZWKwqls7qdldHPr9TAPyHMrgkZWeenc7dlJ77/s320/scan0050.jpg" /></a></div><br />
This is a school project he did in January:<br />
It says, "If I were President I would.....make healthy food for free. Make sad kids have a house."<br />
When I asked him about it he said it is about the kids in Ethiopia. He wants to get them healthy food to eat for those that are hungry and give the children on the streets of Ethiopia a home.<br />
Did I say I LOVE this kid?Kimberleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14108003635357075262noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4323716685360503095.post-83282849341707196032010-03-04T18:35:00.000-05:002010-03-04T18:35:43.348-05:00But she IS my sister!!!!!!!!!!When we are out and about it never fails (I mean NEVER) that someone asks me how old the girls are. They continue to be an almost indiscernable 1 inch difference in height and weigh the exact same. They seriously look like fraternal twins....well identical twins to people who have had little contact with black children (seriously I have had this...a guy at Walgreens thought I was surprised to find out I was pregnant with identical twins) Anyhow, the girls are always happy to chime in that they are 5 and 4 1/2 (emphasis on the 1/2). So, inevitibly the next question is how far apart are they. To which I answer 6 months. Then most people (the ones that can do math in their head or know anything about biology) ask so are they biological sisters?, or are they cousins?, or what came today the simple "Are they sisters?". Usually I just say yes and walk away as cofusion spreads across their face. Today though as I was rounding hour 3 of waiting for our van repair with no quick exit in site I mispoke. When the lady asked "Are they sisters?" I forgot the little ears around me. I said, "they are not biological sisters but they are sisters." To which Wuby had a very cofused look and said in a loud voice, "but mom, we ARE sisters!!!" I tried to explain that I meant that she and Sifan had different Ethiopian mommies, but the term biological sister was lost on her 5 year old understanding. I realized then that I needed to further change my approach to questions from strangers. These questions have mulitplied exponentially since Sifan has come home. The girls are IMPOSSIBLE to miss. If you are not overtaken by their cuteness (I swear I am not looking through mom colored glasses ;) ) then they will try their darndest to engage you in a conversation. Like I said, you cannot miss them, they will not let it happen. This openness that the girls have with strangers seems to loosen strangers tongues, and they ask whatever is on their mind. Usually I don't mind at all....as I am often the Queen of TMI without embarrasement. I will answer those questions that are sometimes prefaced by "I know this might be an ignorant question" and the questions that are down right ignorant and really shouldn't be asked. I alwasy answer with a smile and often take the time to educate a bit about adoption, the process, <strike>the function of my ovaries</strike>, Ethiopia, etc. I realized today though that maybe I need to hold my tougue a bit until I relearn how to better answer some questions because above all MY CHILDREN'S feelings and ideas about themselves and their family are MUCH more important than my furthering a stranger's education about adoption or just scratching that itch of curiosity strangers may have. <br />
T & I and talked it out and decided that we would say that the girls are about a year apart so that the uncomfortalbe question of, are they sisters doesn't come up as much and that our answer will always be Yes, they are sisters, no need for explanation of biology. Often this will suffice if I am by myself with the girls because it isn't a huge leap to think that they are my biological children....often it makes me laugh even when I try to discern what people are thinking when I take the boys and girls out together without T. But the new philosophy is, let them wonder. Kimberleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14108003635357075262noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4323716685360503095.post-71429245350246064282010-02-25T16:51:00.000-05:002010-02-25T16:51:01.949-05:00The toothless two year twins<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhETVB87Rc0-yCGknWa8rPYw6oJ5IBOPCl0NY8ZNBuhFg3mBOqLSri_z0CM4VzSM9n8vWc2h9x2qMoIxU_9fiWsBYda6NtnRaX_bFqOkHVIKn9EisvhY3s1pvyPF4B49GMLAz5LB5Ab8vD4/s1600-h/P1070608.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" kt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhETVB87Rc0-yCGknWa8rPYw6oJ5IBOPCl0NY8ZNBuhFg3mBOqLSri_z0CM4VzSM9n8vWc2h9x2qMoIxU_9fiWsBYda6NtnRaX_bFqOkHVIKn9EisvhY3s1pvyPF4B49GMLAz5LB5Ab8vD4/s200/P1070608.JPG" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghXZyQ-KidEJBPSDEx78IVSLeFqfKfCXW0Aok6ata-ei5Y_gjQHybXZb8V8qPuKxPGp7g23eyCGDxhAV7REz7WV0Q2D9iVfG-aUOtSNFjFZiDzEhWK7CSNvrYExfjTEbB0-mquQX11yDfN/s1600-h/P1070620.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" kt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghXZyQ-KidEJBPSDEx78IVSLeFqfKfCXW0Aok6ata-ei5Y_gjQHybXZb8V8qPuKxPGp7g23eyCGDxhAV7REz7WV0Q2D9iVfG-aUOtSNFjFZiDzEhWK7CSNvrYExfjTEbB0-mquQX11yDfN/s320/P1070620.JPG" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDGaF2mXI0wDp11Bbe69Mz5orNPt1713RKklpvPbRPnpvkGaUW5ORIM0dpUX81UF-lD3_z97mcBabyeNETm0uCQ3oOJL4vjQE-1zGlTrspV5YfAOfjDzSbQEr58P8jdxR4S37pvqTt6ooF/s1600-h/P1070609.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" kt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDGaF2mXI0wDp11Bbe69Mz5orNPt1713RKklpvPbRPnpvkGaUW5ORIM0dpUX81UF-lD3_z97mcBabyeNETm0uCQ3oOJL4vjQE-1zGlTrspV5YfAOfjDzSbQEr58P8jdxR4S37pvqTt6ooF/s320/P1070609.JPG" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoo64ZfOybdRHgFAQMUDV-SBc_diJ9XqgKA77z1UbIx_bzwiqdwpOxNpdw6P-7LeHWbecPodzuv8Xfb5lCtFzi29Kzce1dmOmK-5TYBk399CnrnK2-gEjAXyfi98v5jnAbSMln-4cQZrZ3/s1600-h/P1070607.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" kt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoo64ZfOybdRHgFAQMUDV-SBc_diJ9XqgKA77z1UbIx_bzwiqdwpOxNpdw6P-7LeHWbecPodzuv8Xfb5lCtFzi29Kzce1dmOmK-5TYBk399CnrnK2-gEjAXyfi98v5jnAbSMln-4cQZrZ3/s320/P1070607.JPG" /></a></div>Sifan and Carter like to refer to themselves as "two year twins" since they share a birthday and are exactly 2 years apart in age. I couldn't resist this photo op after Carter lost his front tooth last night :) <br />
<em><span style="font-size: x-small;">(Sifan had her front tooth removed when she came home from Ethiopia...in case you are just tuning in...read about it </span></em><a href="http://ehrmanadoptionjourney.blogspot.com/2009/07/teeth-part-1.html"><em><span style="font-size: x-small;">here</span></em></a><em><span style="font-size: x-small;"> and </span></em><a href="http://ehrmanadoptionjourney.blogspot.com/2009/08/run-down-of-rest-of-july.html"><em><span style="font-size: x-small;">here</span></em></a><em><span style="font-size: x-small;">).</span></em><br />
<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJnqRtQKEk25sxJwkKPwTXDnfKt12GfP1Mi2WJTfzBqdDcaBMFWwUOSZ1DENMeXYT3H75vQqiSs_cv6Uidn-LaqapU2M64UpZIZAIyX0xJIc-KOvzKHJplpRQEXmj53WcRBL-9XUZfGhdB/s1600-h/P1070613.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" kt="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJnqRtQKEk25sxJwkKPwTXDnfKt12GfP1Mi2WJTfzBqdDcaBMFWwUOSZ1DENMeXYT3H75vQqiSs_cv6Uidn-LaqapU2M64UpZIZAIyX0xJIc-KOvzKHJplpRQEXmj53WcRBL-9XUZfGhdB/s200/P1070613.JPG" width="150" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">And one of Wubitu trying to regain the center of attention :)</div>Kimberleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14108003635357075262noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4323716685360503095.post-24753735910938146282010-02-23T20:24:00.000-05:002010-02-23T20:24:06.722-05:00A tale of one kittyThis morning as I was making my tea headed out the door to take the boys to school I heard all 4 of the kids shreiking in terror. Now it is normal to hear at least one scream every morning as the kids <strike>beat each other</strike> get loaded into the van, but it is very rare for them all to be screaming at the same time. As I went to check on them I was run down by a herd of Ehrman children yelling that a cat was in the van. A little background...we have no real pets (we do have an old beta fish that plays dead all day but he is hardly a pet...more decoration than anything). All of the kids are to varying degree frightened of animals of all kinds especially dogs and cats. Wubitu is the worst. If there is a dog or cat in the house she will not let her feet touch the ground and screams anytime the animal comes her way. Sifan is also scared but wants to learn to like pets (she talks nonstop about how she held my mom's cat like a baby one time). Noah and Carter are also very very nervous around pets. So a cat in the van was a shock for sure. Apparently someone had left the van door open and the stray made himself at home for the night. The kids said that when they were all buckled in <strike>waiting for me to get my tea </strike>ready to go the cat jumps out at them causing a loud mass exodus. When I got out there I opened all of the doors to the van and waited. Called "here kitty, kitty" and nothing happened. We were already running late <strike>and i didn't want my face scratched off if I found the scared cat under my seat</strike> so I coaxed the kids back into the van thinking that the cat for sure escaped during the commotion. They were all nervous the entire trip that the black cat might come back. We dropped the boys and headed back home with no incident, other than Sifan insisting that we should keep it because it must not have a home and we could be its home :) The girl's tumbling class was canceled so we didn't have to use the van again until we picked the boys up. We were running late <strike>because I woke up from my nap late. </strike> so I hurried the girls to the van and jumped in. I thought this commercial on the radio was so weird because it had this cute meowing sound. Then it hit me...the cat was still in the van. I thought I had smelled a hint of dirty cat in the air when I got in. I stopped at the corner and opened my door and waited. A minute or so later a big black cat jumped out of the van from under my van seat!!! I tried to remain calm <strike>not pee my pants</strike> as to not further enforce the girls' fear of animals. Drove <strike>like a wild woman</strike> the rest of the way to pick the boys up, and picked up trash from the passenger side at stop lights. Then I found <strike>grabbed</strike> the receipt I had been looking for and to my disgust it was covered in cat pooooo!!!! AAAAAA!!! Since I disturbed the <strike>turd</strike> feces it made the entire van stink to high heaven. Thankfully I was so late to pick the boys up that none of the staff came close enough to the van to smell it. The boys smelled it instantly and we all had to pull our shirts over our noses all the way home to keep from gagging. This solidified in the kids' minds that they do not want any pets. Luckily for me the majority of the mess was on a USPS flat rate mailing box I wasn't using so I could just throw it in the trash. However, how do I explain to the store that the receipt I need was pooped on by a cat that doesn't belong to me who decided to make its home in my van.....???Kimberleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14108003635357075262noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4323716685360503095.post-86788082164515928382010-02-22T11:41:00.000-05:002010-02-22T11:41:30.848-05:00Just a quick note!I think there are only 2 days this month that I have not been sick <strong>:( . </strong>Things have been crazy with T back to school and trying to get the house ready to sell. We have an open house this Sunday!!!! Sorry that I have been amost completely absent from the online and real world. I miss everyone!<br />
<br />
Good news though!!!<br />
We readopted Sifan here in Indiana. (this is a required step in an internation adoption where you do not see your child before the court proceedings in Ethiopia). This means that Sifan is officially Marjorie Sifan Ehrman and will recieve her Indiana Delayed Certificate of Birth in 3 months!!! And get this....we were sucessful in changing her birthdate to the one provided by her birthfamily (at least for her Birth Certificate purposes)!! It was super easy here in Indiana. Some states require bone density scans and medical opinions to change the age. We only had to have a notarized document from our agency explaining the discrepancy and how they came to know that the new date is the actual date (birthfamily records in our case). This was added as an "exhibit" to our documents for court and everything passed!!! If any Indiana family is looking to "readopt" here in Indiana I strongly recommend <a href="http://www.jhdj-law.com/index.php/our-team/michele-jackson/">Michelle Jackson</a>. They are very fairly priced, and very quick too, about 1 month from sending paperwork to receiving the court order in the mail. <br />
Next hurdle for us is the Certificate of Citizenship. This paper will prove the girls' US citizenship. Since we have now readopted the girls are US citizens but need this last piece of paper to have lasting proof of their citizenship. I am hoping that getting the birthdate changed will be just as easy with the US gov as it was with Indiana government....we shall see!Kimberleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14108003635357075262noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4323716685360503095.post-81248717323657438182010-01-22T14:55:00.007-05:002010-01-22T15:05:14.014-05:00Project Runway: Library plush editionCan I just say that our library rocks!!!<br />Monday nights are family nights and they always have a fun night planned for the kids. Last Monday the theme was snow and the kids were supposed to paint snow but it melted here to they made frosting from scratch and cut out snow flakes in played in a huge pile of crushed syrofoam "snow". Two weeks ago they had an animal fashion show. The kids brought their stuffed friends from home and got to make clothes for them from a variety of scrap fabrics. It was way way way to fun and totally my style!!! Here are the finished products:<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVOwdYa7Y46W8YHr3e62bV7mXTUytm5P6nKt7oHGPKyhXhyhhyphenhyphenMFVzLwj2VMqgpwhG-AtnmVvbJo1b-tikXdamFk7bMFDV9zscnGF1WZP-mcqnAQhCGS1Z1Lxq8nwnmObcr2I2Uz-8yjZa/s1600-h/P1070483.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVOwdYa7Y46W8YHr3e62bV7mXTUytm5P6nKt7oHGPKyhXhyhhyphenhyphenMFVzLwj2VMqgpwhG-AtnmVvbJo1b-tikXdamFk7bMFDV9zscnGF1WZP-mcqnAQhCGS1Z1Lxq8nwnmObcr2I2Uz-8yjZa/s400/P1070483.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5429656599690394834" border="0" /></a>This is baby bandit. Carter is so cute doing this because he wanted a "hat like Wubitu has..." and a "mask think like the robbers have in Texas". <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHQtjfaQ7MgOVjzAR-wL8mSEGlYAb0iKHzVRjVSCzFwVyAlmudAWurz9pQLCQSW63kRvzG0-MgAcxA-Qa69_97Nx5-AElXbkgm2PWujc0ih8PKIjsdnPLl-l4R0QIrbmJwz-p46AF8m8fP/s1600-h/P1070485.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHQtjfaQ7MgOVjzAR-wL8mSEGlYAb0iKHzVRjVSCzFwVyAlmudAWurz9pQLCQSW63kRvzG0-MgAcxA-Qa69_97Nx5-AElXbkgm2PWujc0ih8PKIjsdnPLl-l4R0QIrbmJwz-p46AF8m8fP/s400/P1070485.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5429656679884528162" border="0" /></a>This is sleeping Beauty.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2ztwAR_VgvOZxI-u5OdU7j8TvZ5R3DhHlAca6Ibr2jGFckVoRu6hxL7al3wRzFFwdMysYi5d25kJTeLJTksdCbeblLFGkT7U0tiwffEVTctK8TwP3gpYW85CEwmX8BQ_-xfPr3nEJ-7gr/s1600-h/P1070482.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2ztwAR_VgvOZxI-u5OdU7j8TvZ5R3DhHlAca6Ibr2jGFckVoRu6hxL7al3wRzFFwdMysYi5d25kJTeLJTksdCbeblLFGkT7U0tiwffEVTctK8TwP3gpYW85CEwmX8BQ_-xfPr3nEJ-7gr/s400/P1070482.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5429656491815785250" border="0" /></a>Joe Money pants<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUmvleqeUSAXYQNDKKjNor65lj5-DH8cRJnUJYNCFMUrqRPcWt8kAtuVNUQ5P8kIFdTFsUdyzvzqDdHc0gKO1cbSOhtLGSeGXH-tj6iMegXBqSiKwcYmlxhOO1Y2VALqlD-Yx1lryx0uKX/s1600-h/P1070479.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUmvleqeUSAXYQNDKKjNor65lj5-DH8cRJnUJYNCFMUrqRPcWt8kAtuVNUQ5P8kIFdTFsUdyzvzqDdHc0gKO1cbSOhtLGSeGXH-tj6iMegXBqSiKwcYmlxhOO1Y2VALqlD-Yx1lryx0uKX/s400/P1070479.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5429656403414263954" border="0" /></a>And my most favorite dress made from a sleeve! <br />After the outfits were made the kids got to take turns presenting their creations!Kimberleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14108003635357075262noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4323716685360503095.post-32028419849398675472010-01-22T13:38:00.014-05:002010-01-22T14:55:03.739-05:00changes & celebrationsIt has been a very busy last few weeks. (I swear I say that a lot...I think I am addicted to projects) Torrey started back to school full time and work full time...it has been a bit of a shock again after having a month off for Christmas but we think the transition will be easier this time around. Carter's art was showcased at a the local library for a PTA art program. He recieved first place at his school for Kindergarten-2nd grade Photography and Visual arts.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5mm38WrL-WlTGXqkKuHhLGq_N6imAK3okGZfxlA0YhtGXFEHgigg8QspZH6oHkC7_ejsy_c_Ttba7ZUCS3t8N1VBtx-d8qi5GUmEK2o5qEIulwgvFEOe3VOcXbtRqvYwUnDcTFMfbRlU6/s1600-h/P1070453.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5mm38WrL-WlTGXqkKuHhLGq_N6imAK3okGZfxlA0YhtGXFEHgigg8QspZH6oHkC7_ejsy_c_Ttba7ZUCS3t8N1VBtx-d8qi5GUmEK2o5qEIulwgvFEOe3VOcXbtRqvYwUnDcTFMfbRlU6/s400/P1070453.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5429651012988073426" border="0" /></a>Carter has a very interesting perspective when it comes to photography, I LOVE his photographs. Noah did a great job too and received 2nd place at the for grades 3-5 at the school for his photo of the American Flag!<br />After the showcase we had T's parents come with us to look at a house we visited briefly at an open house. We absolutely LOVE the house and so decided to put our house on the market ASAP...knowing that we would need to make a few changes to the house to get it ready to show. So, we have been in overdrive to redo the kitchen and dinning room.<br /><br />First was the flooring in the kitchen.<br />Carter & Noah LOVED pulling up the old flooring. They were demo kings (in their jammies)!!!<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSNnCOsu11bbJ1cpmw1GbCcsIoOGPWkZozY8aJGFeNXzQe71Cgf5mDbIKEkKlsCZ3NQ-ff0wtkYn3hJS_Pcf3hLYvnVe49PecVm6aWLpKKfGRUqPDvywNqYbTGj_ztZ-FyeqwejQl7xh2O/s1600-h/P1070523.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSNnCOsu11bbJ1cpmw1GbCcsIoOGPWkZozY8aJGFeNXzQe71Cgf5mDbIKEkKlsCZ3NQ-ff0wtkYn3hJS_Pcf3hLYvnVe49PecVm6aWLpKKfGRUqPDvywNqYbTGj_ztZ-FyeqwejQl7xh2O/s400/P1070523.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5429647924349007410" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0w53DGNpNYxkLBtY44kRb0uDgmlDj8p2s4vsBVBcnaKmfaW0AsSycKUe7g2uHc0Jrf13Y7DPDxU5z6zYQDRGjdm3DIRKT5Mk61zXOuwMrFAblB_sf6fkatn5SBq35bKO05diDUB3NuGfu/s1600-h/P1070525.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0w53DGNpNYxkLBtY44kRb0uDgmlDj8p2s4vsBVBcnaKmfaW0AsSycKUe7g2uHc0Jrf13Y7DPDxU5z6zYQDRGjdm3DIRKT5Mk61zXOuwMrFAblB_sf6fkatn5SBq35bKO05diDUB3NuGfu/s400/P1070525.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5429648018226560514" border="0" /></a>This cuteness is what happens when Sifan is left to pick her own clothes while mommy finishes the project<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipwLd8CCpKBAwIUnw1qKlePfj5QV5IYg9GsjBVHkQIZA3vmoZ6sbPG4MERgPIQLrvR-0VUzNJuh8sQYUWe0RquV51BEXpr5QHjJJWsfdfn8TOwKLTKZF4jBmbno5ZLyb2jm0AHq0xEouP_/s1600-h/P1070526.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 154px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipwLd8CCpKBAwIUnw1qKlePfj5QV5IYg9GsjBVHkQIZA3vmoZ6sbPG4MERgPIQLrvR-0VUzNJuh8sQYUWe0RquV51BEXpr5QHjJJWsfdfn8TOwKLTKZF4jBmbno5ZLyb2jm0AHq0xEouP_/s400/P1070526.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5429648109084250290" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:130%;">Before Kitchen</span>: (this was taken for our dossier to adopt Sifan back in November of 2008... since this pic the floor tiles started to come up so the plan was just to replace the flooring but T wanted to have flooring that ran through the dinning room and kitchen both so we had to redo the cabinets too!)<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAs0dR5pRB3jjBpJIaaSPSutMyZ73Tv1UBXBgSrogqQBi1b2WPGssilHpC50XmxbWQ7qS5M7a-QYb14Gxdb5ZfxsLW7Gg4vc6arz3U_8SeBeeVyOzN4H0sSO-9k4SVY7Il4K5Lw6om5tGG/s1600-h/P1040041.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAs0dR5pRB3jjBpJIaaSPSutMyZ73Tv1UBXBgSrogqQBi1b2WPGssilHpC50XmxbWQ7qS5M7a-QYb14Gxdb5ZfxsLW7Gg4vc6arz3U_8SeBeeVyOzN4H0sSO-9k4SVY7Il4K5Lw6om5tGG/s400/P1040041.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5429638697548958450" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:130%;">After:</span> The flooring is this really neat floating vinyl flooring that is like laminate in that it interlocks and isn't stuck to the subfloor but has the durability and waterproof properties of vinyl. A SUPER PLUS with messy kids.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJvnF8zRBqeIPB0HvlgnecSUq6_luCXbnx77lyCD_6TDBpW87u6EqIOhyNVQ_8b41QaUMp3Q2ZSAVIM7XUplfZp1DywlqWLmWot7ZVjCYRJJ1WLSt-RiY7IFvtitd0j0-DxRZfPp7xJ_L7/s1600-h/kitchen+m1.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJvnF8zRBqeIPB0HvlgnecSUq6_luCXbnx77lyCD_6TDBpW87u6EqIOhyNVQ_8b41QaUMp3Q2ZSAVIM7XUplfZp1DywlqWLmWot7ZVjCYRJJ1WLSt-RiY7IFvtitd0j0-DxRZfPp7xJ_L7/s400/kitchen+m1.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5429638651883081986" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3ogCOg8ElPsVXvX2UUw77kfV2KVV6Ni8ke0XIgNmzu7ghrtU8uKya7_OdiLqhtaLAhCEdNul3O2gyHbCTWAjfLub0PMdH4uQb7ScTeRXUBnKFurwqSs7sUVTJexAdiYb__ECAl3sqPeCG/s1600-h/dining+room+2.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3ogCOg8ElPsVXvX2UUw77kfV2KVV6Ni8ke0XIgNmzu7ghrtU8uKya7_OdiLqhtaLAhCEdNul3O2gyHbCTWAjfLub0PMdH4uQb7ScTeRXUBnKFurwqSs7sUVTJexAdiYb__ECAl3sqPeCG/s400/dining+room+2.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5429638557433184722" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHEg6m40sU4bp9impZMJAvMbJdD5ljOceRD2IESxdLPN5sw8-Ti5UgYgIHpf2_m_wo3Dnj4iYxKmbMzbtGsIoVuqa-ZJbOmySnZq98uPUCd4ckny5US5LB3KTfcgj0vuWHA-tAx0BWtar1/s1600-h/kitchen+3.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHEg6m40sU4bp9impZMJAvMbJdD5ljOceRD2IESxdLPN5sw8-Ti5UgYgIHpf2_m_wo3Dnj4iYxKmbMzbtGsIoVuqa-ZJbOmySnZq98uPUCd4ckny5US5LB3KTfcgj0vuWHA-tAx0BWtar1/s400/kitchen+3.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5429638607882325442" border="0" /></a>In the middle of the project my baby sister had her first baby boy!!! On Wednesday we welcomed sweet baby Kouper.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtuTXkdZKfPEF26T5xi9alyVkkKsS0rlYuumMPYjqHmNmvUkZOE5ValBek5khC_hlga7I5nDu6kiyoWdrjCk8PVG3dKr1mSfOb-SexvUsIdnDLjaVtA6X0AkABB6t5CF27LhOrbt18ulQb/s1600-h/P1070510.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtuTXkdZKfPEF26T5xi9alyVkkKsS0rlYuumMPYjqHmNmvUkZOE5ValBek5khC_hlga7I5nDu6kiyoWdrjCk8PVG3dKr1mSfOb-SexvUsIdnDLjaVtA6X0AkABB6t5CF27LhOrbt18ulQb/s400/P1070510.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5429649775754004418" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxWvxZ3UT5jPn11VPArYTDDkDDdZVkvtjTS34OR8xUU25a9eHxP8rAYEandfoipubzQ5F16U27nXsUTw30HZWxgkmu4LS4sSQBfgGJGESKVcAnuH1gUDUBtGOLg8QZY2VcBet7diTU0Q2k/s1600-h/P1070518.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxWvxZ3UT5jPn11VPArYTDDkDDdZVkvtjTS34OR8xUU25a9eHxP8rAYEandfoipubzQ5F16U27nXsUTw30HZWxgkmu4LS4sSQBfgGJGESKVcAnuH1gUDUBtGOLg8QZY2VcBet7diTU0Q2k/s400/P1070518.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5429649869852813698" border="0" /></a>Dining room before: Under the table was a large piece of plywood that covered an old vent...we found the little "treasure" after pulling up the carpet a few years ago hoping to uncover this older home's original hardwood flooring. Also under the rug lurked some damaged hard wood from when a bottle of laundry detergent was spilled on the carpet and left there too long.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk6PuXs6N-cvV7rP2DE52n402q0ewuZUHgoZ2JPV_Ni4SoKi2z63V4Kw5DQWUj4aoW6Vs32d3eb-XUDnO1OozQDbU4k7AE4TxTycS6-fMROUq9WzD6Y5dTpxaKtiGHuxEDjwLTAcT8JNMa/s1600-h/P1070470.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk6PuXs6N-cvV7rP2DE52n402q0ewuZUHgoZ2JPV_Ni4SoKi2z63V4Kw5DQWUj4aoW6Vs32d3eb-XUDnO1OozQDbU4k7AE4TxTycS6-fMROUq9WzD6Y5dTpxaKtiGHuxEDjwLTAcT8JNMa/s400/P1070470.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5429639207335318130" border="0" /></a>After:<br />The kids LOVE that we have so much open space now...they like to take a running start and slide across the floor in their socks and jammies and I like to spin them around in circles on their backs. It was nice to be able to move the table and not have to use it to camouflage the defective floor.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1oCSBm7QSq5Qg2BWwQSk6TzIPnd7Ieg1-o4aBBjsix4uRUKm7UDoSzjlQ_0FdJM97FEiLaCxXs4525GfySmUOWR848QOrcOztZvq0Xoit0jCZVA80Hhy1q9Jx-IMyCfqEG3PBmCb-zlL3/s1600-h/dining+room+1.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1oCSBm7QSq5Qg2BWwQSk6TzIPnd7Ieg1-o4aBBjsix4uRUKm7UDoSzjlQ_0FdJM97FEiLaCxXs4525GfySmUOWR848QOrcOztZvq0Xoit0jCZVA80Hhy1q9Jx-IMyCfqEG3PBmCb-zlL3/s400/dining+room+1.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5429638513802539106" border="0" /></a>Though now that the dining room floor is done I want to paint it!! (I think I mentioned something about a project addiction before..hmmm....)<br /><br />We hope our home sells in time to snatch up the house we like but the market in our area is ridiculous at this point. Praying everything works out. Until then at least we can enjoy the fruit of labor!Kimberleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14108003635357075262noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4323716685360503095.post-73798296475008932732010-01-14T09:27:00.004-05:002010-01-14T09:47:52.841-05:00A little changeI know it is crazy....6 months later....we have decided to change the spelling of Sefan's name back to Sifan. A few things:<br />1) Our initial paperwork listed her name as Sifan. The spelling "Sefan" did not appear until we reached Ethiopia and found it spelled this way on her birth certificate<br />2) When people see "Sefan" they tend to pronounce her name "S'fawn" and often I can't get people to change their pronunciation after they have learned it this way. In reality her name is pronounced "See-fen". So if we change the spelling to Sifan then likely teachers, etc. will not even try to pronounce it and ask us. Sifan is too shy to correct people (unlike Wubitu) so this may help her later.<br />3) She will have to spell her name to people no matter which way we spell it as "huh" or "what was that" is the always the response when Sifan tells people her name.<br />4) Ultimately though, the reason for the change is this picture:<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMNLJH-dYW2TAE8EPr7ywS8uZqyiNQAzbY42agkmNveXcLDRjpArruZEntOLG_SyFhdjBm68zl9J8Q60j4DwqXAGlVQ_YGOsfDxH9L69X_FvjViNReJmD0DTdszpUzBTHtwNMucl9pt-UT/s1600-h/scan0001.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMNLJH-dYW2TAE8EPr7ywS8uZqyiNQAzbY42agkmNveXcLDRjpArruZEntOLG_SyFhdjBm68zl9J8Q60j4DwqXAGlVQ_YGOsfDxH9L69X_FvjViNReJmD0DTdszpUzBTHtwNMucl9pt-UT/s400/scan0001.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5426603580052681202" border="0" /></a>This treasure is a picture of Sifan's 3rd birthday party in Ethiopia. The last she had with her Ethiopian family. The video crew we contacted to do a life video for Sifan sent us 6 pictures that Sifan's birthfamily wanted her to have. These pictures are a true treasure as most children who have been adopted internationally have very little to no pictures of their life with their birthfamily. We are so greatful to have these.<br />We have been so busy that I have not had time to study these photographs. As I was scanning them to make copies for Sifan's adoption book I noticed in the background a birthday poster that clearly spells Sifan's name "SIFAN." So we have decided to spell it the same way that her birthfamily spelled it.<br />Sifan has really taken to the change, actually she is very excited about it! She can now write her name very clearly. Though I felt a little silly telling her preschool teacher that we were changing the spelling of her name; especially since we changed her birthdate just 8 weeks ago.<br />Thankfully we have not readopted (adoption speak for the registration of the adoption in our state where you can make name changes and in our case a birthdate change) so the spelling change can easily be made as we are filling out the paperwork this week :)<br /><br />P.S. if anyone can translate the rest of the poster I would be very very grateful!Kimberleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14108003635357075262noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4323716685360503095.post-38462135088076018982010-01-12T09:30:00.004-05:002010-01-12T10:02:12.830-05:00Mommy, why do we have to die?!Wuby has been upset by the thought of death since my great grandmother Margie passed away a few months ago. We talked through the uncomfortable topic many, many, many times to a point that would beyond satisfy most 5 year olds. She keeps bringing it up and I didn't understand why until today on the way home from taking the boys to school. Wuby got very upset suddenly and said, " Mommy, why do we have to die! I don't want to live with Jesus forever!" There....Forever.... was the root of her discomfort. There....another home....that was the root of her issues with death....she was afraid that she would have to leave our home to live with another family and the thought scared her....more than dying itself, perhaps.<br />Two incidents I think brought her underlying worries to a head. A few weeks ago when i was picking Wuby up from preschool her teacher told me that she had jokingly said to the kids that they would come home to live with her and Wubitu told her, "No! my mommy will come for me." When I arrived she told the preschool teacher, "See, I told you she would come." But I think that incident still shook her a bit....made her question if her place in our home was permanent; and why wouldn't she question it? We were at least her 3rd home in 3 years....in each situation she was loved dearly. What makes this situation any different?<br />The second situation is that we have been talking about moving for a few months now...talking about what comes with us (beds, furniture) and what things stay (doors, floor, etc). On Sunday the sign went in the yard and the move became more real to her. In her 5 year old perspective what makes the difference between her previous homes and ours other than wealth? <br />With every move in her life the new home came with a new set of people who were to care for her. In her mind perhaps maybe this move would mean new "parents' too? <br />All I had to offer were assurances and hugs. I assured her that we are her FOREVER family and we would be with her FOREVER, and she would NEVER have to leave us to live with another family. I held back the tears as I got to look into her life window a bit, she has lost so much in her short life. While we are so overwhelmingly happy to be her Forever family, so much pain comes with her story (like all adoptions....). We hope that we can help heal the wounds or at least be there to apply the bandages and some tender love and care as she finds her own road to healing.Kimberleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14108003635357075262noreply@blogger.com2